Kasbah de Oudayas

We wandered through the Kasbah des Oudayas in Rabat one late afternoon. The kasbah here was constructed for defensive purposes by the Almohad Dynasty when a defensive rampart was built. It is on high ground at the intersection of the Atlantic Ocean and the Bou Regreg river.

I had pictured the kasbah as a market, but this is not the case – it’s almost a village. Yes, there are some stalls selling some food and souvenirs, but mostly it is made up of houses, which all seem to share common walls. There are small alleys which wander down the hill, and take you to the Jardin des Oudays, laid out in the 20th century in the Andalusian style.

The houses are predominantly white, but to about shoulder or head height they are painted blue. What took my eyes here were the alleys

The entrance courts to the houses,

Bends in the alleys filled with plants, like this oleander in full bloom

And the doors. This one has a canopy over the top and a “hand of Fatima” which fends off the evil eye.

Here’s a detail of that door, so you can see the grillwork.

One door is very picturesque with bougainvillea, and, of course, the ubiquitous cat!

This courtyard has interesting pots in various colors with bougainvillea and a strange metal strip that seems to grow upwards:

Panning the camera upwards allows you to figure out what the strip is doing: it’s connecting electricity, which must be underground, with a junction box:

And looking closely at the junction box brings a chilling realization – this must be the ‘main power panel’ for this group of houses and it is open to the elements. Which leads me to wonder, in my retired-insurance-broker mode, whether these houses are insured, and if they are, whether their insurance companies understand the risk they are taking….

Mary

Rabat, Morocco 9/20/19

Posted from Fez 9/21/19